


Three Strikes and You're Out

by bamboozledeagle



Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-09
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2019-05-04 13:43:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14594280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bamboozledeagle/pseuds/bamboozledeagle
Summary: Uno doesn't realize how dangerous the adventures Donald goes on with his family can be until the hero stumbles into the PK car nearly frozen to death. He comes to decide that he really doesn't like Scrooge McDuck or Della Duck.





	Three Strikes and You're Out

**Author's Note:**

> A series of asks turned into an actual story. Special thanks to askers @neminine, @adamarinayu, and the anon who started it all with a custom prompt.

“You don’t deserve him!”

They flinch.

As they should.

Donald is lying on the hospital bed covered in warm blankets and breathing through a mask. Next to him, on the other side of the bed, a machine filters his blood, warming it so that he might recover from the severe hypothermia plaguing his body.

Uno hadn’t known what it meant when Donald stumbled into the PK car shivering violently and expressing confusion over where he was with slurred words and blue lips. The car’s system alerted him to Donald’s presence and Uno had thought something might be wrong. It’s not like the hero to want to go out on patrol immediately after returning from an adventure. The abnormal color of his blistering fingers and his horrifyingly low body temperature sent Uno into a frenzy.

He had the car meet him a block before the hospital, it wasn’t like he could have the car dump the duck in the ER with no warning, so he metaphorically threw himself into his protype body and scrambled out of the tower while the car quickly (and carefully) flew to the meeting place.

He ran into the hospital screaming bloody murder and cradling his friend (He’s so small, he never realized how small Donald is…or how fragile). Donald had lost conscious in the car and his breathing became shallow and slow. His heart rate was too slow, and Uno’s sensors made him painfully aware of how close his friend was to death.

He checks the satellites while he waits for the doctors to call his name in the waiting room. He follows the McDuck family to the land of the Vikings with trepidation and he watches them return with fury.

They left him in a block of ice.

For hours.

On a boat.

Outside.

They should flinch.

They don’t know him, but he knows them. This isn’t the first time Donald has crawled into the PK car with various wounds and ailments. Yet still, he goes with them. ‘To keep them safe.’ He’d said, ‘People get hurt on adventures.’ Donald figured if he was the one to get hurt, then all’s well.

He should have told the doctor not to call Donald’s family. He should have reported Scrooge to the authorities. No, he should have reported them both. It was downright attempted murder and he’s never felt such loathing for other beings before. The only reason he didn’t was because of the duck on the bed in front of him, his bandaged hand held protectively in Uno’s.

Donald might forgive his family, but Uno never will. Donald is mortal, and he is likely to forget the pain as time passes, but Uno? Uno is immortal, and he will never forget. Oh he could delete the memory, but this is Donald, the most precious person in his life. If he could, he’d pick Donald up and leave his family in the dust. He could take him away from these horrid excuses for relatives, but Donald wouldn’t like that.

So, he doesn’t.

But he can still make them sorry. He can still make them flinch.

...

Della and McDuck have no idea who he is.

They ask Donald after he wakes up from the Hypothermia Incident, but the sailor has no memory of what happened between getting off the boat and waking up at the hospital. They don’t have a name to give him or a description he recognizes. The two hound Donald, but the duck hasn’t ever seen Uno’s prototype body.

Uno works on it with a fury, he had to leave Donald alone at the hospital because the circuits were starting to overload. Of course, he had access to the cameras, so he knew when the hero woke up, but leaving him alone and vulnerable at the hands of those two…miscreants…was upsetting.So he finishes his body and he watches them closely. 

He’s sorry he didn’t before.

In the past, Donald came back from every adventure with all sorts bruises and scrapes. ‘Part of the adventure.’ He’d say with a grin. Uno hadn’t given it another thought, accepting his friend’s words. Now that he’s watching - now that he’s listening - he can see it’s much more than the adventure.

There are times Donald gets hurt on his own terms like when he throws himself between his sister and a deadly trap. Other times it’s because he’s forced into it. A shove here, a push there, and more often than not he gets hurt from blatant negligence. They ignore his warning cries while they try to decipher a wall of text and they laugh dismissively at his plights.

The laughs almost make him change his mind about reporting them. It infuriates him whenever he hears them chuckle. It’s too similar to the laughs on the boat while Donald was trapped in the block of ice. The reminder of his friend’s cold, dying body in his arms sets him on edge and puts him in a bad mood for the rest of the week. 

He starts following them in the PK car, ready to intervene.

He doesn’t tell Donald.

Donald would wave it off with a smile that hides his pain. He’d convince Uno that it’s alright, because this is what he calls normal. ‘It’s rude to spy on people.’ He’d say as if he hadn’t let Uno spy on so many other animals over the years.

Donald doesn’t know about his body or his spying and that’s why Uno knows, without a doubt, that the hero fully believes that he is going to die alone right here and now.

They’re in a temple in South America, rumors of a gorgeous gem had sparked McDuck’s interest and the warnings and myths around it proved to be enough for Della. 

Of course things go wrong.

It turns out that the gem is pure destructive power when it’s out of its container, so much so that it can and will annihilate the entire continent if it touches the ground. Donald is stubbornly and painfully holding it in his fist. His family had ignored his warnings in their excitement and released it from its prison. It would have fallen and killed everyone had he not caught it.

Gashes appear and wounds crawl up his hands to his arms as if he’s being sliced by an invisible sword, his body is literally tearing itself apart from the power. He can’t move through the pain and put it back in it’s container. He can’t even scream. The door is shut, his family locked out when the box was opened, a last-ditch attempt by the architects of the temple to keep the stone from unleashing its power.

He is alone with no hope of rescue and he knows it. If he could just die with the his body between the stone and the ground, maybe that will be enough to stop the gem from releasing it’s power.

He suffers for what feels like an eternity when Uno’s face appears in front of his. He takes Donald’s hands and guides the stone back to its prison, shutting the box, and automatically reactivating the complex lock that was created to prevent the gem from destroying everything.

As soon as he’s released from the gem’s grasp, he passes out. Uno, with his arms already around his friend to help with the stone, easily catches him. His wounds are large and numerous, his arms look like they’ve been through a blender. The most worrying injuries are the ones that advanced up to the base of his neck. If Uno doesn’t do something soon the hero will bleed out. 

He can hear the other ducks pounding on the door. It hasn’t opened yet and it probably never will. The architects likely didn’t account for a last minute save. Uno dismisses them and their racket, he has more important things to attend to.

He scoops Donald up and has the car drill its way through the temple to meet them. They go to the nearest hospital and he lets the nurse call Donald’s family. No matter his opinion on them, Donald will have a panic attack if they aren’t by his side when he wakes. 

When McDuck and Della show up, he’s waiting for them outside Donald’s room. On the other side of the door, his friend is covered in bandages, recovering from the gem’s - no, his family’s influence. 

Not even the Evronians ever managed to injure him this badly.

“You!” Della yells, shocked.

“Me.” He glowers. The two ducks stop in front of him, one excited at the mystery he poses and the other suspicious of his intentions.

“Step aside.” Scrooge glares back.

“No.”

“What do you want? Money? I won’t – “ He starts to bargain.

“You clearly have not been burdened by an overabundance of education McDuck. I know perfectly well you won’t pay any ransom that involves Donald. You are not my priority.”

McDuck’s eyes widen in anger and he grits his teeth with a snarl, about to let loose his famous fiery temper when Uno coldly continues, “Strike two, McDuck. For your sake, there better not be a third.”

…

Della and McDuck start escorting Donald places.

Since their second meeting, the two ducks fear Uno’s intentions and are set on keeping him away from Donald - a fruitless endeavor, Donald is the one who comes to him when their backs are turned. He knows about the body now, but as far as the hero is aware Uno only followed the family on their recent adventure.

“Thanks, Uno.” He says after he confronts his partner over his sudden appearance thousands of miles from the tower. He still has bandages around his neck and arms and he’ll have them for at least another couple of weeks. The wounds are going to scar, but for now McDuck’s failings will be on display for the entire world - and Uno - to see.

In return, Uno drives McDuck insane. The old duck has never encountered an opponent like Uno. He isn’t looking for McDuck’s death or his money or his dime, and he’s not a flashy being by nature so there are no grand entrances or loud boastings about diabolical plans. Uno is silent and patient and that bothers Scrooge to no end.

Uno doesn’t have to do anything to rile him up. The duck starts to get anxious and moody when he and Della can’t figure out who he is or what he wants even though he’s already told them. They’re convinced he means ill will and that he’s using Donald as a means to an end. He starts to see where Donald gets his obliviousness from. Still, he takes great pleasure in watching McDuck stress over him without Uno ever really doing anything to begin with.

Della drops the issue almost immediately, coming to the conclusion that Uno is a stalkerish, overprotective friend, but it takes Donald and his twin nearly a month to convince Scrooge the same. The old duck is incredibly stubborn, just like Donald, and ten times more paranoid. If Uno messes with him a bit over the month then that’s his business.

“It’s him, it has to be!”  
“Yes Uncle Scrooge, the skinny duck we’ve only met twice is controlling the traffic lights and turning every single one red.”

“Della Duck, my gut is never wrong and ye would do well ta trust it!”

Needless to say, he greatly enjoys the month while it lasts.

He continues to secretly follow the family on their adventures, though it proves to be very difficult with the entire family now on the look out for him.

This time, however, he’s not the only one.

They’re in the middle east, tracking down rumors of the Holy Grail. He notices Glomgold and his hired muscle before Donald and his family do. While the second richest duck in the world ambushes the family and rants about his newest plan, Uno sneaks around to perform a counterattack of his own. The final chamber is small with only a table of grails in the back and a small fountain filled with what is supposed to be holy water in the middle. The room is a bit crowded, but no one is actively looking for him which makes it easier for him to try to sneak up behind them.

His plans change when he hears Glomgold say, “No, but you will.” Followed by a gunshot.

Donald goes down and Uno lashes out, striking as quick and as deadly as a snake. Glomgold and his goons stand no chance against an angered android and within mere moments they’re in a groaning pile on the floor. Della is cradling her brother and begging him to stay with them. Donald chokes, his throat clogged with his own blood. The bullet tore through his heart and compromised his esophagus before finally lodging itself in his spine.

He’s going to die.

McDuck has his hand over the entrance wound, desperately trying to keep Donald alive for a few more seconds. “Why would you do that? Why would – “ He flounders, “ - for an old duck like me –“ He sobs, “What were you thinking?”

They don’t even realize he’s here, they’re so focused on Donald. His partner catches his eye and it’s the calm acceptance that kicks Uno’s processors into gear.

He grabs McDuck’s shoulder and the duck lashes out, expecting him to be Glomgold. His eyes widen when he sees Uno and the pile behind him.

He growls, “Strike three. Now…” Uno hauls McDuck to his feet so their faces are nearly touching, “Fix. It.”

He roughly brings him over to the table of grails. One of them is the real deal, the rest are fakes. There are grails of all shapes and sizes; some are made of gold and silver, undoubtedly forged in fire and adorned with priceless gems, others are made of wood, hand carved and embellished with intricate designs.

One of them could save Donald.

Glomgold had taken the shiniest of the lot and he continues to stubbornly hold onto it in his forced sleep, but Uno is certain that it’s not the one they want.

Scrooge and Uno start roughly filtering through the grails.

“Jesus was a carpenter.” McDuck says and the metal grails clatter to the floor, thrown aside like they’re nothing. Gold, silver, bronze – it didn’t matter how much money they could have been worth – none of them can save Donald, so they are worthless. They’re left with four and Della screams at them to hurry up, her brother in the midst of a seizure in her arms. “The one on the right!” She yells.

It’s the smallest one, the simplest, it’s hardly a grail and more of a cup. There’s a 33% chance she’s right, but it’s better than the others.

Scrooge snatches it up and fills it with the holy water. Uno helps Della hold Donald down while Scrooge pours the water over Donald’s wound. Right before their eyes it stitches itself together. That awful choking noise Donald was making turns into rasping breaths and the three hovering around him sag in relief. Their legs would have given out had they been standing.

Donald is asleep on the floor, exhausted, when Scrooge asks, “So strike three. Now what?”

He looks tired and old, his worry over his nephew aging him a hundred years. Uno appraises the two ducks in front of him.

“My original plan was to report you for negligence and attempted murder.”

Scrooge recoils in shock and horror while Della asks disbelieving, “For what?”

The look he gives them is downright murderous, filled with loathing and rage, and his voice is ice when he says, “He would have died from frostbite had he not come to me that night.”

The two ducks shamefully look at the ground.

“Then I thought how Donald would react and decided against it. The idea to erase you didn’t occur until the King’s Gem.” He stares them down and he knows they can feel his gaze when they shift uncomfortably, “I’ve seen Donald go through a lot, I’ve seen him get into more fights than anyone alive, that Gem did more damage to him than an entire army could, and he warned you, but you didn’t listen.”

“Donald’s always been a worrywart.” Della tries and Uno’s face changes into something vicious.

“Has he ever been wrong?” He struggles to get his face to morph into something more calm, “Every single time he’s expressed concern over something, you dismiss him, and it is a miracle that any of you are still alive. Are you entirely unaware of how dangerous your adventures are? Or are you so high and mighty that you think yourselves immortal?”

Uno is aware of how hypocritical this sounds coming from him, but the Evronians are a known danger. They are mortal and Uno has all sorts of information on them. In Uno’s opinion it is one thing to go knowingly into battle, but it is another entirely to enter a fray with only legends and old writings to go on. If PK is flying by the seat of his pants, then Donald is in free fall.

“When you say ‘erase’…?” Scrooge hesitates.

Uno smirks at him. He’s fully aware of his powerful status in the future and even without help from his future self, he could easily arrange for accidental deaths. This is all a bluff of course. Donald would never forgive him and murder simply isn’t in his programming. Not like Due. His brother could do it without hesitation, but Uno isn’t that kind of duck.

Scrooge and Della don’t know that, though, and he gets a little bit (okay, a lot) of satisfaction when his company starts nervously sweating. He laughs. 

“I am messing with you.” He confesses with a smile. “Strike three was me reporting you. After I changed my mind during the Frostbite Incident, I decided to give you two more chances.”

Scrooge and Della sigh in relief.

“I have reported you by the way.” He says as he sends a message out.

“What!?” The two shoot back up, scared over what might happen. “You can’t!”

“I just did.”

“But - Uncle Scrooge they’ll take us away!” Della wails. Scrooge hunches in on himself, looking away when he responds, “Well, lassie, maybe it’s for the better.”

“What?” Della whispers, scared and hurt that her Uncle wouldn’t fight to keep them.

“Think about it Lass, this is the third time Donald’s nearly died because of me. I – I couldn’t bear the thought – “ Scrooge is cut off when his cell phone rings. Uno watches smugly.

“Hello?”

“SCROOGE MCDUCK YOU ARE IN SO MUCH TROUBLE!”

“Grandma?!”

It’s not the authorities, but it might as well be.


End file.
